Wonder why nobody has come up with "The Magic Pill" yet?  Because there's NO such thing silly!!  Today is the fanatical craze of women using HCG (female hormone a body produces when they're pregnant), Vitamin B12 shots, and the 20,000 other fad diets out there to drop weight fast, and for most, unhealthy fast.

I had a client who lost over 30 pounds in 8 weeks with HCG, then she stopped working out for awhile because why should she?  She was already losing weight eating whatever she wanted.

Hormones are powerful, they can increase muscle mass (anabolic steroids), they can dull excruciating pain (cortisone), they can even hollow out your bones so they look grey on X-rays causing you to lead a life of bone density loss and fragility...true story. 

I had an ex-teammate pump an injured throwing shoulder full of cortisone for almost a full 60 game Division I collegiate baseball season, and in the end faced total reconstructive surgery and will never be able to throw anything ever with the same arm.  You see, cortisone masks what's really injured numbing the area, so you don't feel the extreme damage being done.

The same goes for the 20,000 fad diets including HCG and vitamin B12 shots, they're masking the real elementary break down in leading an active lifestyle...

Yes, these quick-fix solutions do work...for awhile, then you'll notice a frustrating stagnation that inevitably leads to falling off the wagon, and the Yo-Yo dieting continues...10 pounds lost here, 15 gained there, 5 more pounds lost, another 10 gained...and on and on the weight gaining Merry-Go-Round goes.  If you've watch the documentary Food Inc., or read the books Protein Power, by Dr. Eades, and/or Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan, then you know eating high glycemic carbohydrates and highly processed foods are the reason why America has gotten so fat over the last 30 years.

It makes my heart hurt and arteries shudder to think about the food we put in our bodies, and then combat our slow methodical weight gain over the years with loony-bin fad diets like the ones mentioned above.  I apologize if you're hooked into one of these by popular media, but in a moment, I'm going to show you how to lose weight the right way...the healthy active lifestyle way.  And I guarantee you'll be happier for it.

Check out this article of what one of my favorite bloggers did with a 12-Day Challenge: Whip Cream v. Cool Whip...it's very disturbing and horrifying to see the difference between real and "fake" food.

I'm so tired of hearing about the frustration with these fad diets...in the end, they DON'T work!!  All are like putting a band-aid on a severe laceration, and I mean severe because we're killing ourselves with food these days PEOPLE...if we don't treat the extreme cut with antibiotics, then we'll die of infection, and best case scenario, have to live with a grotesque scar to remind us the rest of our life.

What is the right way to weight loss or gain?  There are 7 key critical areas for one to reach their goals, get off their meds, and lead an overall true active lifestyle.  We can't leave one out or the system won't work, and the following points aren't arranged by most-least important, they're all insanely important. 

1. Weight Loss/Gain Goals:  We have to know where we are today, where we want to go, and how to get there?  The burning "why" is the key to staying motivated, why do we want to lose weight?  A strategic combination of short/long term goals are great..short include: losing 10 pounds or 2% body-fat before a family cruise, training for a marathon, being able to finish a run without walking.  Long include: losing 100 pounds in a year, being able to complete 100 miles on a bike without stopping, eating super good over a year.
2. Resistance Training: Plain and simple, we have to build muscle to be able to burn fat.  NO muscle, no fat burning capabilities, period.  We should be doing at least 3 times a week of resistance/circuit training.  You see, fad diets aren't good because they cause our bodies to eat away at our own muscle tissue, and that's why we gain back more than we lose in the first place.  Muscle also weighs more than fat, so it isn't uncommon for a female to gain weight in the early stages of weight training.  For every 1 pound of lean muscle gained, we burn an extra 50 calories at rest, that's literally burning calories while we sleep!  And, it takes 5 pounds of muscle to fill the same volume as 1 pound of fat, which burns an extra 250 calories at rest.  Muscle is leaner and meaner! :P  Here's another article from one of my fav. online elite athletic trainers: Why Women Should Not Be Afraid to Gain Muscle
3. Cardio-Respiratory Training: We should be doing this at least 2-3 times per week on non-resistance training days.  Cardio in our target heart zone (65-75% of max heart rate) for 30-45 minutes is crucial in recovery from weight workouts (moving soreness out of our muscles), and immobilizing fat.  We can't shrink our fat cells unless oxygen is present (or with surgery), aerobic activity is "with oxygen," so where '0'2 is able to bind to fat and take it out of our body through feces, urine, and/or sweat.
4. Flexibility: This is the most under-rated piece to the active lifestyle puzzle, and is one of the most essential.  We all finish our workouts and just want to get the heck out of the gym as fast as we can, most times forgetting or skimping on the stretch (me included sometimes :).  Stretching can actually increase strength levels by 10% because we increase our range of motion, increase range of motion and we allow the muscle to take on heavier loads.  Doing Yoga not only helps with flexibility, but breathing and moving soreness out of muscle (and sometimes into) as well, so increasing oxygen to the body, and again, what does an boost in oxygen do?  Immobilize fat.  I have a client who is 80 years young, and because of a past left hip surgery, had to tie her left shoe with pliers because the surgery left her with terrible range of motion...after 8 weeks of Yoga, she was able to tie her left shoe with both hands!  Nice job Joyce!
5. Nutrition: Eating low glycemic carbohydrates, getting enough protein, and good fats are vital to a healthy lifestyle.  We need all these macro-nutrients, we shouldn't go NO Carbs because with the eradication of Carbs goes water and important vitamins and minerals.  Contrary to popular media, we also need saturated fats, check this article out on another one of my favs titled, 7 Reasons to Eat More Saturated Fat.  We're finding nutrition is about 60% of this whole equation...I've had clients working out to the burger, but not getting the results they wanted until they changed what they ate.  One case study of a male late 20's lost 8.5 pounds in 4 weeks just by changing his eating habits.  He didn't eat less, he actually ate more hearty meals to lose that weight.  We have to eat 5-6 times per day to keep our metabolism burning...eating 2-3 times per day is teaching your body to run in starve mode, so when you do eat, your body stores the food as fat.
6. Hydration:  Remember when I said fat immobilizes in the presence of oxygen?  What does water have in it?  H2-'O'.  We have to drink a lot of it...and yes, one of the fad diets is saturating your body in drinking water all day to curb hunger...not good.  Let's dispel the myth...you shouldn't drink water to curb hunger, you should drink it to help burn fat, keep hydrated because your body is about 75% water, and to help with cellular function.  Almost every chemical reaction in your body requires either oxygen or hydrogen, which water has both.  A quick equation for how much water we should be drinking on a daily basis:  your body weight divided by 2, times 30%, then you add that to the halved body weight...so I'm 180 pounds divided by two = 90 X 30% = 27 + the original 90 = 117 ounces of water/day I should be drinking...that's almost ten 12 oz bottles of water.
7. Supplementation: If nutrition is the wood plank that make up the body of a boat, then supplements make up the nails securing the planks to each other.  Supplements should not make up for meals, they should fill in the nutrient gaps of what our meals aren't getting to our bodies.  My favorite supplements are protein powder, Omega-3 krill oil (48X more potent than regular fish oil), and a multi-vitamin.  However, we can have the most expensive quality nails in the business, but if the wood planks of our boat are warped (terrible nutrition), then those nails aren't going to do a damn bit of good for holding water.

I tell all my clients, this is the secret to losing or gaining weight the healthy way.  You'll see an increase in energy levels, self-confidence, strength, endurance, flexibility, blah blah blah.  If weight, inches, or body fat aren't budging, then there's a break down in the system somewhere.  If all pistons are firing, then we may have to check with a Doctor and draw blood because it could be a hormone issue.

I hope this will help change your view on leading an active lifestyle, don't believe all the crap in popular media or on the internet, above is the secret to longevity and weight loss/gain...don't let anyone tell you definitely.  As you can see, there's NO secret potion up there, just things our early ancestors did to survive.  Funny how we've returned full circle ;)

We provide the ultimate in CORE boot camp training, and part of our mission is to train people so they can do what they want when they want to, and NOT have to worry about past injuries or future ones. Our routines incorporate CORE into every exercise, and leave you with the ability to do the workout in your living room, Local Park, or on the road.

Our goal is to provide an 80/20 perspective to working out...20% of exercises leave you with 80% of results...we do one exercise that works 3-4 different muscle groups at the same time, which shortens the amount of time you need to spend on getting a beneficial workout. People don’t need a gym membership to train hard, and research shows staggering benefits to an under-the-sun workout regime versus a gym free-for-all.

What’s the CORE Creations strategy? It’s no big secret, in fact it’s in the name...first, we aggressively build CORE balance and stability, and then move to building natural healthy lean muscle tissue in the prime movers. Without a strong CORE, you’re like a house without a foundation...

CORE Creations is all about getting you out-of-the-box...re-conditioning your mind into thinking positive, so you can run a marathon, climb Yosemite, or compete with the top tri-athletes in the world, and most importantly doing it safely, so you don’t have to be put on the shelf. BIG goals mean fantastic results.

One of the partners of CORE Creations is a Fresno State Bulldogs baseball alumni Joey Myers, who played in the outfield for the Diamond Dogs from 2000-2003 under legendary coach Bob Bennett and now 2008 College World Series National Champions, coach Mike Batesole.

Joey Myers is a Certified Personal Trainer (CPT) through NASM & Yoga certified through Yogafit. We’re insured, have a business license, and are CPR & AED certified.

Core Creations features three distinct levels of training (each are 4 weeks long), relevant to clients looking for weight loss or gain: 1) Stability, 2) Strength Endurance, and 3) Power EDT training. We also offer pain-free running and walking, Cardiovascular Manipulation, have the capacity to train high performance athletes, and have some experience with nutrition, although we aren’t certified. The bottom line? Core Creations believes there are 5 critical components, "needs," to weight loss/gain:

1. Goal setting – we need to know where we want to go.
2. Resistance training – we need to build fat burning muscle.
3. Cardiovascular training – we need to put new muscle to work burning fat, and to aid the body in recovery.
4. Nutrition – we need to treat our body like a high performance sports car...put high octane fuel in, and get high performance results...put low grade fuel in, you’ll get low performance results.
5. Supplementation – most everyone is deficient in something at the macro/micro nutrient level, so we need to help our nutrition "fill in the gaps."

We’re very happy to see you get to this point, the next step is to contact us and see what we can do for you...following every step above (also, depending on body type), our clients are averaging 2.5-3.5 overall inches lost every 4 weeks. But we have to follow the "secret" 5-needs recipe above:)

First, I want to give you the latest and greatest research on the subject and fantastic resources to get you moving in the right direction:

• Real Life Extension: Caloric Restriction and Intermittent Fasting article by Tim Ferris, 4HWW
• The book Protein Power by Dr. Eades
• My Eating Smarter Nutritional Guidelines PDF developed from the preceding two blogs/books

In a nutshell, to turn your focus onto picking quality food versus becoming a calorie counter, your choices should be based around your insulin levels NOT on how many calories you're eating.  Insulin is the hormone all diabetics' lives revolve around, particularly blood sugar levels.  This hormone is responsible for signaling to the body to store fat in your fat cells and cholesterol into your arteries. 

Between all three macro-nutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, & fats), which one has the most dramatic affect on insulin levels? 

Studies show Carbohydrates are the only ones having a positive affect (positive isn't good in this case) on your blood sugar levels.

If you eat Carbs high on the Glycemic Index, it will spike insulin levels and the body will store the food as fat and artery clogging cholesterol.  It isn't Red meat that's bad, it's what you eat with it...white foods such as: bread, rice, crackers, chips, potatoes, some pastas, refined sugars or flours, etc.  If you eat anything from the "white" food group, then any protein or fat will be stored as fat and cholesterol in your arteries.

Now, if you eat steak, a Caesar salad without the croutons, black beans with cheese, and have a glass of whole milk (as much as you want btw), you won't gain a thing...you'll actually lose body fat and gain muscle.  Does that sound counter-intuitive to what's out in the popular media?

What's the great American diet consist of? Steak, baked potato with all the fix-ens, a salad with ranch dressing and croutons.  What's wrong with this picture?  Red meat isn't the enemy, it has yes cholesterol, saturated fat, protein, key nutrient vitamins, and creatine (a muscle builder).  The other nutrients you know are good for you, but did you know your body needs cholesterol (both HDL-good & LDL-bad) and saturated fat?

Your body has to keep a certain ratio of HDL to LDL's, and it isn't healthy to cut both out of your diet totally, and if you think Saturated Fat is the devil, then check out this article from Tim Ferris, from the 4HWW blog, titled, 7 Reasons to Eat More Saturated Fat.   

The bottom line?

As long as you keep to good low glycemic Carbohydrates you have nothing to worry about.

Which foods are low glycemic?  Here's a good site where you can make your grocery list count (pardon the pun :)

The following squat exercise routine works like the Story of Milo of Crotana...

There was a boy named Milo from the city of Crotana, Greece who carried a baby calf a certain distance into town everyday, and with each passing day the calf grew bigger and heavier, while Milo also grew bigger and stronger for his efforts.

This phenomenon from the preceding story is referred to as progressive resistance OR the overload principal. Increasing the amount of weight each time forces your body to grow bigger and stronger, if you don't, then your gains stagnate.

The squat is the best pound for pound complete muscle and strength builder of any exercise out there...when Tom Cruise said "You Complete Me," in the movie Jerry Maguire, he was actually alluding to squats, NOT Renee Zelweger's character ;)

This article will go into the simple, and most importantly wholesome, squat exercise recipe that can put 30lbs of muscle on your body in 6 weeks from the book Super Squats, by Dr. Randall J. Strossen.

I was often told in my baseball days, while training at Fresno State, the following squat system is the natural way of "shooting up" without using a needle, rubbing on, or ingesting a special hyped-up supplement. We did them once per week and I was a solid 185lbs, now I'm around 176 without the specified squat exercise.

How can this CORE Creations squatting system benefit YOU?

Benefits include:

• Shorter gym time, and get more out of it than longer conventional workouts.
• Forces the body to adapt, get bigger and stronger after every workout, which means NO stagnating results!
• Build a stronger butt, leg muscles, and gut translating into BIG Power. AND
• Whenever our CORE gets stronger, the better our posture, not to mention becoming more attractive to the opposite sex!

What are the ingredients for the squat exercise routine?

Remember to check with your Doctor first, before starting any new exercise routine or diet.

1 set of 20 repetition squats, 2-3 times per week with at least 1-2 days rest between squat lifting days. Start with 55% of your 1-rep max and add 5-10lbs of weight each new lifting day. Also, drink at least 2 quarts (1/2 a gallon) of milk (whole has more nutrients) per day along with your normal eating routine, and get plenty of rest. The author of Super Squats gained 30lbs of muscle in 6 weeks on this program! If you're buying milk at a bulk food store, like Costco, this should cost about $30-40 extra per month; a tiny investment for your gains in performance.

Equipment you'll need, if you don't have access to a gym, is very easily obtained, won't take up a lot of room, and fairly inexpensive; you'll need a steel Power (Squat) Rack, adjustable weight bench, and a 300 Lb Olympic Weight Set, total brand new should run about $1,100, and used for nearly half that.

You can also save space adding a Bowflex SelectTech adjustable dumbbell set for another $474 (brand new). These are simply brilliant for the fact you won't take up a lot of space in a home gym with tons of iron/rubber clad dumbbells laid out all over the place, AND it makes changing weights super easy and quick.

You can also search eBay for fantastic deals on NEW and USED equipment with the below links:

• Search for 300 LB Olympic Weight Sets on eBay
• Search for Power Squat Cage Racks on eBay
• Search for Adjustable Weight Benches on eBay
• Search for Adjustable Dumbbells on eBay

7 Crucial Squat Safety Concerns

1. Make sure to breath deeply from the belly as you do the squats, not from the chest because you'll most likely get a head ache or pass out during the lift.
2. If you don't have a squat exercise rack with safety bars, then make sure to have a good spotter to watch over you at all times.
3. Squat from your heels (like you're sitting down in a chair), NOT your toes...squatting from your toes puts too much stress on the knees.
4. Keep the toes pointing straight ahead if possible, and feet about shoulder width.
5. When descending into the squat, focus on keeping the knees tracking in line with the toes.
6. Make sure to get your thighs to at least parallel to the ground.
7. Keep your chest up and back as straight as you can, do NOT arch your spine!

If anything, please pay close attention to the above squat exercise video for the proper form. Just like in hitting, squat technique is very important and precautions should be taken during the beginning stages of motor learning. If anything, start with smaller weights to get form down, then steadily increase it.

The above CORE Creations squat exercise routine is very simple and wholesome, 1 set of 20-Rep squats, 2-3 times per week, 2 quarts of milk per day, and plenty of rest. That's it! You're now on your way to bigger stronger legs & core, more force behind the ball, and most importantly, faster bat speed :)

BONUS Thoughts...

What about working your chest, back, shoulders, etc. along with the 20-Rep Squat Exercise routine?

As a hitter, you want to stick with dumbbells because they force your body to stabilize the weight more effectively than using a barbell, and most vital, they simulate the movements you'll be doing on a baseball field better anyway.

Here's a list of powerful multi-joint exercises you can do along with your 20-Rep Squat Routine, just pick 2 extra exercises total per workout, with separate muscle groups. In other words, don't do everything on this list every workout. Remember less is more.

• CHEST: Dumbbell (DB) Chest press, DB Incline Chest Press, Decline Pushups/DB Press
• BACK: Single Arm DB Row (on a bench), DB Bent-over Row, Pull Ups/Lat Pulldowns
• SHOULDERS: DB Military press (be careful with this one), DB Upright Row
• OTHER: Straight Arm Standing Lat Pulldown, Bench Dips, Regular Dips

The following squat exercise routine works like the Story of Milo of Crotana...

There was a boy named Milo from the city of Crotana, Greece who carried a baby calf a certain distance into town everyday, and with each passing day the calf grew bigger and heavier, while Milo also grew bigger and stronger for his efforts.

This phenomenon from the preceding story is referred to as progressive resistance OR the overload principal. Increasing the amount of weight each time forces your body to grow bigger and stronger, if you don't, then your gains stagnate.

The squat is the best pound for pound complete muscle and strength builder of any exercise out there...when Tom Cruise said "You Complete Me," in the movie Jerry Maguire, he was actually alluding to squats, NOT Renee Zelweger's character ;)

This article will go into the simple, and most importantly wholesome, squat exercise recipe that can put 30lbs of muscle on your body in 6 weeks from the book Super Squats, by Dr. Randall J. Strossen.

I was often told in my baseball days, while training at Fresno State, the following squat system is the natural way of "shooting up" without using a needle, rubbing on, or ingesting a special hyped-up supplement. We did them once per week and I was a solid 185lbs, now I'm around 176 without the specified squat exercise.

How can this CORE Creations squatting system benefit YOU?

Benefits include:

• Shorter gym time, and get more out of it than longer conventional workouts.
• Forces the body to adapt, get bigger and stronger after every workout, which means NO stagnating results!
• Build a stronger butt, leg muscles, and gut translating into BIG Power. AND
• Whenever our CORE gets stronger, the better our posture, not to mention becoming more attractive to the opposite sex!

What are the ingredients for the squat exercise routine?

Remember to check with your Doctor first, before starting any new exercise routine or diet.

1 set of 20 repetition squats, 2-3 times per week with at least 1-2 days rest between squat lifting days. Start with 55% of your 1-rep max and add 5-10lbs of weight each new lifting day. Also, drink at least 2 quarts (1/2 a gallon) of milk (whole has more nutrients) per day along with your normal eating routine, and get plenty of rest. The author of Super Squats gained 30lbs of muscle in 6 weeks on this program! If you're buying milk at a bulk food store, like Costco, this should cost about $30-40 extra per month; a tiny investment for your gains in performance.

Equipment you'll need, if you don't have access to a gym, is very easily obtained, won't take up a lot of room, and fairly inexpensive; you'll need a steel Power (Squat) Rack, adjustable weight bench, and a 300 Lb Olympic Weight Set, total brand new should run about $1,100, and used for nearly half that.

You can also save space adding a Bowflex SelectTech adjustable dumbbell set for another $474 (brand new). These are simply brilliant for the fact you won't take up a lot of space in a home gym with tons of iron/rubber clad dumbbells laid out all over the place, AND it makes changing weights super easy and quick.

You can also search eBay for fantastic deals on NEW and USED equipment with the below links:

• Search for 300 LB Olympic Weight Sets on eBay
• Search for Power Squat Cage Racks on eBay
• Search for Adjustable Weight Benches on eBay
• Search for Adjustable Dumbbells on eBay

7 Crucial Squat Safety Concerns

1. Make sure to breath deeply from the belly as you do the squats, not from the chest because you'll most likely get a head ache or pass out during the lift.
2. If you don't have a squat exercise rack with safety bars, then make sure to have a good spotter to watch over you at all times.
3. Squat from your heels (like you're sitting down in a chair), NOT your toes...squatting from your toes puts too much stress on the knees.
4. Keep the toes pointing straight ahead if possible, and feet about shoulder width.
5. When descending into the squat, focus on keeping the knees tracking in line with the toes.
6. Make sure to get your thighs to at least parallel to the ground.
7. Keep your chest up and back as straight as you can, do NOT arch your spine!

If anything, please pay close attention to the above squat exercise video for the proper form. Just like in hitting, squat technique is very important and precautions should be taken during the beginning stages of motor learning. If anything, start with smaller weights to get form down, then steadily increase it.

The above CORE Creations squat exercise routine is very simple and wholesome, 1 set of 20-Rep squats, 2-3 times per week, 2 quarts of milk per day, and plenty of rest. That's it! You're now on your way to bigger stronger legs & core, more force behind the ball, and most importantly, faster bat speed :)

BONUS Thoughts...

What about working your chest, back, shoulders, etc. along with the 20-Rep Squat Exercise routine?

As a hitter, you want to stick with dumbbells because they force your body to stabilize the weight more effectively than using a barbell, and most vital, they simulate the movements you'll be doing on a baseball field better anyway.

Here's a list of powerful multi-joint exercises you can do along with your 20-Rep Squat Routine, just pick 2 extra exercises total per workout, with separate muscle groups. In other words, don't do everything on this list every workout. Remember less is more.

• CHEST: Dumbbell (DB) Chest press, DB Incline Chest Press, Decline Pushups/DB Press
• BACK: Single Arm DB Row (on a bench), DB Bent-over Row, Pull Ups/Lat Pulldowns
• SHOULDERS: DB Military press (be careful with this one), DB Upright Row
• OTHER: Straight Arm Standing Lat Pulldown, Bench Dips, Regular Dips

 Physical

• Increased flexibility – studies show an increase in strength by 10%
• Strength – you get it with the increased flexibility, but also by holding the poses and using our body weight as resistance.
• Muscle tone – women love this one.
• Pain Prevention – especially in the back, knees, shoulders, hips, and ankle joints.
• Better breathing – equals more relaxation, lowering of blood pressure, and calming the
• Central Nervous System (i.e. our nerves).
• Release of Endorphins – these are the things responsible for good feelings, keeping away sickness, and bringing us confidence and increased self esteem.
• Better posture – a healthy posture opens a whole Pandora’s Box of benefits, letting our body’s own energy freely roam without inhibition.

• Mental calmness – keeping us in the present moment with our breath and body awareness in poses, in addition to leaving negative baggage out the door for the hour or so we’re practicing Yoga.
• Stress reduction – the breath is the BIG stress reducer, bringing our blood pressure down and heart rate, while increasing red blood cells to all parts of our body.
• Body awareness – getting comfortable in our own body is challenging and something easily accomplished with regular consistent Yoga.

	Before Yoga	Before Yoga	After Yoga	After Yoga
	Blood Pressure	Resting Heart Rate	Blood Pressure	Resting Heart Rate
Client A	146	80	132	85
MALE	90		86
Client B	143	65	137	67
MALE	79		75
Client C	117	112	94	110
FEMALE	93		72
Client D	136	80	125	78
FEMALE	76		82
Client E	150	60	128	68
MALE	91		90

If you can measure it, you can manage it. Joga is awesome!!